“Jackson, Tucker was flirting with me.”
“You sure?” Jackson asks.
“How positive are you that they’re the ones looking into her?” Everly questions. “I just feel like… especially now with the police involved, whoever took Cam would want to end this as quickly as possible, but no one’s reached out to Sophia. And from what I’ve heard, this Barlow family seems like people you don’t want tofuck with. But those guys in that car we stopped? They seemed… unpolished.”
“I was thinking about that too,” I say. “But while we’re waiting for Cassel to get us something else, it’s all we’ve got. Our main problem is that it’s three hours from here. If we’re wrong, that’s a long way to go to have to turn around and come back.”
“Where’s your husband?” Tavish asks Sophia.
“I told him to stay with the police, in case they need him for any questions or something comes up. I can’t have him wandering off and getting hurt… he can’t know… he can’t know what I’ve done.”
“What do you hope to gain by not telling him?” Jackson asks. “Lies cause issues. If Cam knew the danger you were in, would he be here right now instead of in their hands?”
I see a car pull up out front and watch as the man starts toward the door before I glance back at Sophia.
She looks away, seeming upset, but I know from experience that lies really don’t get us anywhere. It only got me Daddy Henry tied up… and yes, I got a Daddy for life out of that, but most people aren’t that lucky.
The door opens and Henry walks in, instantly making Sophia uncomfortable. She knows he’s the chief of police but doesn’t know Henry’s wild side. The man is a ball of spontaneity, of wildness… he’s like an untamable beast.
I catch his eyes and immediately convey to him, “I do not trust this woman but my new baby boy wants his friend back, so I will be a hero in his eyes, much as you’re a hero in mine.”
His eyes narrow in a very obvious, “No…youare my hero, Leland.”
I smile at him in a clear, “You shouldn’t have! But I will gladly wear that cape and come running when you call my name.”
“Nope,” Henry says as he turns around and begins to leave the office.
“Daddy, no!” I cry. “You called me a hero. You can’t take that back!”
“I did absolutely no such thing.”
“I think you did,” I mutter. “Everyone else could also sense that you were trying to convey that.”
“Naahhh, I didn’t see shit,” Tavish says, and I show off my phenomenal self-control when I don’t chuck a stapler at his head.
“What happened? Give it to me straight,” he says. “Jackson, Everly? Hell, Waylon? Just not Leland.”
“I oddly happened to notice my name was not mentioned. Did you forget it?” Tavish asks.
Henry stares at him for a second before going, “No.”
Tavish looks confused, like he could possibly not understand what he did to lose the amazing trust and love of Henry the Great.
“I got this. I can give it to you in a rap. Like how they catch you up to speed inHamilton,” I offer.
“I would prefer you didn’t,” Henry says.
“Please stay focused. I need to find my son,” Sophia whines.
“Someone want to drop a beat?” I ask.
“Leland, I would like to find my friend somewhat soon,” Waylon says, and since he said it, I know I have to listen.
“Right, sorry, of course,” I say, afraid I will upset my new son. “Sophia is an ex-contract killer for the Barlow family. After making a run for it, she started up a life here. Waylon and her son Cam were out for a walk when a group of people in two vehicles swooped in and took her son. She has received no contact from whoever took him. We, of course, speculate it was the Barlow family, but we agree that the fight was sloppy for them.”
Henry leans back against the wall and closes his eyes. “How can you guys get into so much shit?”
“Easily. So easily,” I assure him.
